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Singapore GP
F1 Singapore GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix
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Max Verstappen will be hunting for his first Marina Bay victory this weekend, having scored an historic 10th consecutive F1 win last time out in Italy.
However, he will have to do so from 11th on the grid after a difficult qualifying in his Red Bull.
It hosted arguably his worst performance of the season last year, when he went off and could only recover to seventh.
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz will start from pole having also been fastest in practice, with Mercedes' George Russell alongside on the front row.
The 2023 Singapore GP starts at 1pm BST.
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Alas, we spoke too soon. Now Magnussen runs deep at Turn 7 and cedes a hatful of places. He'd just had a wiggle at Turn 1 that sent him over the runoff, before sailing straight on at the 90-degree left.
With the action kicking off in the midfield, Sainz still leads by around a second from Russell who has Norris and Hamilton in tow. Leclerc has cut the gap to 1.5s but still isn't fully tucked up behind Hamilton.
Alonso is still sat patiently behind Perez trying to prize an opening. The Mexican remains seventh, despite his 20 lap older tyres. Magnussen is also clinging to tenth, Gasly having lunged up the inside of Turn 7 and got fully alongside only for the Haas to bump over the kerb and claim the inside line for Turn 8.
How much are the frontrunners managing their pace? Going on their fastest laps to their current pace, between 0.5s-1s even with the fuel burning off.
Magnussen has fallen out of Ocon's DRS range and now has Gasly crawling all over him. The Alpine takes an optimistic look around the outside of Turn 8, but that's never on and he falls back into line.
The gaps between the front four are closing but nobody is looking for a move. "I want to go for this win," Russell tells Mercedes, who reply that they are "on the same page". That race-winning overtake must be written down later in the 'how to win the 2023 Singapore GP' guide.
Zhou has a grippier tyre than anybody in the field right now, but he's unable to make use of it because the car ahead of his medium-shod Alfa is a Williams. Remember how quick they are down the straights? Albon is keeping a firm grip on 15th for the time being.
"It is like driving on ice," Verstappen says over team radio. I bet he'd rather a bit of the frozen liquid in his drink driving in 30C heat with 74% humidity.
Leclerc's pitstop traffic woe and earlier lock-up has, for now, dropped him out of the podium fight but he is 2.2s off Hamilton so all is not lost. Verstappen has also conceded 4s to Leclerc as his race continues to drift.
A black and white flag has been shown to Magnussen meanwhile for forcing another driver off the track. We imagine it is Gasly, who has been following a Haas all race long and is, presumably, sick of the sight of them.
We are halfway through this race and Sainz leads by 1s from Russell, who has a 1s gap back to Norris and then another 1s splits Hamilton in fourth.
Alonso's efforts to prize open the door on Perez are temporarily distracted by a major lunge from Ocon which the Aston driver just sees off.
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"He's managing a lot, he is very slow, I guess he is trying to back us up," Russell says of Sainz's pace.
Leclerc is the next to make the move on Verstappen to take fifth place, which isn't something we've said much this season. Usually it is the Red Bull picking up places for fun.
Perez is having slightly more joy than Verstappen in holding position. He's got an absolute gaggle of cars behind him comprising Alonso, Ocon, Magnussen, Gasly and Piastri.
Sainz is edging out his lead over Russell to 1.1s but it is incredibly tight at the front which is also allowing Norris to close the gap.
Make that three places lost since the restart for Verstappen, as Hamilton dives up the inside of Verstappen and into fourth.
It's fair to say that gamble of staying out for Bottas hasn't worked either. He's also been passed by Zhou, who has pitted twice! The Finn is still yet to stop and languishing down in 17th on a hiding to nothing.
Red Bull's bold call to start on the hards and not pit under the safety car, knowing they couldn't make the mediums last to the end of the race, has hurt them badly in this restart. Verstappen has lost two spots and Perez has lost three.
Alonso is next in the queue to take on Perez, now seventh having lost a spot to Leclerc. Perez is still grumbling that Hamilton passed him by running over the kerb on the exit of Turn 7 and demanding the position back, but I wonder that ship has sailed now.
Sainz leads Russell by 0.8s with Norris a couple of seconds off in third. Verstappen is still fourth but has Hamilton under his rear wing.
In all of that Hamilton also overtook Leclerc, as the Ferrari driver locked up behind Perez which gave the Brit a freebie move.
In the midfield Piastri has moved ahead of Lawson to take 12th, that pair both now ahead of Hulkenberg after his pit delay.
It doesn't last long, as Hamilton then gets by Perez a few corners later around the outside at Turn 7. Then up ahead Norris dispatches Verstappen to move up to third! Great racing!
Bottas was another to stay out and had restarted tenth, but sinks like a stone on the first lap back to green and drops to 16th.
Action everywhere you look! Russell gets by Verstappen down the new back straight for second, with Norris pulling off the exact same move on Perez to take fourth. Hamilton also tries to sneak by Perez but gets shown the wall.
Hamilton moves up to sixth at the expense of Leclerc, who got all crossed up into Turn 7.
Sainz does nail the restart and bolts clear of Verstappen, with the Dutch driver under pressure from Russell.
Green flag
The safety car period is about to end but Sainz backs up the pack behind. He should be able to fend off Verstappen on much older hard tyres but here we go...
Zhou is the only driver in the field not on hards. He came back into the pits for a second time and switched to mediums.
Leclerc questions the slow Ferrari pitstop and is told they had to hold him for traffic and couldn't risk releasing him and getting a penalty. It was tight but the end result is Leclerc has lost places to Verstappen (yet to pit), Russell, Perez (also yet to pit) and Norris.
Hulkenberg was the biggest loser from that pit sequence, as he was right behind Magnussen on the track and had to double stack. He's tumbled back from tenth to 15th.
Alonso had a moment going into the pits, locking up and bumping over the kerbs delineating the pit entry. For failing to follow the race director's instructions and crossing the white line, that incident has been noted by the stewards.
So the Red Bulls, both yet to stop, are the mixer in the cocktail at the front. Sainz leads from Verstappen, Russell, Perez, Norris, Leclerc and Hamilton.
Pit stop
A slow pitstop for Leclerc has dropped him behind Russell and Norris! Verstappen, who started on hards, stays out and moves up to second as Sainz retains the lead.
Alas, the Red Bulls decide to stay out on their hard tyres in a bid for track position.
This probably doesn't favour the Red Bulls, who would have wanted this to happen much later into the race.
Pit stop
Sainz leads a stampede into the pits, followed by Leclerc, Russell, Norris, Hamilton, Alonso and Ocon.
Safety car
And there we are! Safety car deployed!
The debris being littered on the track by Sargeant will make the pitwalls even more nervous about a safety car.
By: Autosport Staff
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